Trivial Pursuits
by ytteb
Summary: Tony's plans for a weekend away with friends don't go quite to plan ... all the team involved as he doesn't manage to get away from them much.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own them, just playing ..._

Special Agent Tony DiNozzo sighed as he walked along the corridor towards Interrogation. He usually looked forward to interviewing suspects and bounced with excitement when given the go ahead. Today was not such a day. He paused in front of the door, rolled his shoulders and moved his head from side to side in preparation. He doubted if any other members of his team were going to be watching from Observation: it was too open and shut a case to be of any interest.

Tony summoned up a vestige of his usual energy to walk confidently into the room. There was no need to think of an ingenious strategy to employ against the young man who sat waiting there, the simple approach would do. He went and sat down opposite Dean Watkins and placed the case file on the desk between them. Dean didn't bother to look at the new arrival but remained slumped in his chair gazing at the chewed finger nails on his tattooed hands. He had straggly sandy colored hair, pale blue eyes and skin which showed the signs of bad acne in the recent past. He was tall and leanly built and, as Tony knew, was built for speed. From the folder in front of him, Tony also knew that he was a High School dropout who had been in and out of trouble since he was fifteen.

"So, Dean, what have you got to say for yourself?" asked Tony.

Dean sighed a put-upon sigh and said nothing.

"Why'd you do it?" continued Tony but still got no reply. He drummed his fingers on the table in frustration. The case was not one which the MCRT would normally have been involved with. A children's charity had refurbished some swings and other play equipment in a rundown area of Washington. The organisers had arrived for the opening ceremony and found that the play area had been vandalised: paint daubed everywhere, swings pushed over and smashed, a mural designed by local children with holes punched in it. Still nothing to interest NCIS except that the Secretary of the Navy's sister ran the charity and had called her brother , who had called Director Vance who had sent Gibbs and his team to the scene.

The 'case' had not been difficult to solve. As the team arrived, Tony had spotted a young man looking on from a distance. There was nothing to make him a suspect but as Tony looked at him, the lad had suddenly twitched and then started running. Tony had set off in pursuit. The fugitive had a good burst of speed and, to start with, pulled away easily but Tony soon began to gain on him. He might now lack the explosive start of his Varsity sports days but he had the stamina and fitness of a trained and disciplined athlete. As he caught up with the youth he could hear his panting and puffing and knew that training and discipline were probably not concepts his suspect was familiar with. As Tony braced himself for a leap to bring his quarry down, he was surprised when the man simply stopped and stood waiting for him to arrive. It was that simple, in the end the guy couldn't be bothered to put up a fight.

Which was why Tony and Dean were now sitting opposite one another in an interrogation room at NCIS Headquarters. Special Agents McGee and David had found paint matching that at the vandalised crime scene in Dean's beat up truck and flakes of paint from the damaged mural on his clothes. There was no doubt that Dean was the culprit.

"Why'd you do it?" asked Tony again. Dean shrugged again but managed an answer this time,

"Don't know."

"Kids in that neighborhood could have had fun playing in the park. They made that picture which you smashed up. Why?"

"Why not?" came the flat toned reply.

"I'm trying to understand here, Dean. Help me out."

"Why'd you want to know? Doesn't make no difference. You've solved the case, you're done."

And Tony knew that he _was_ done, he didn't need to do anything else. He could call Metro and hand Dean over and he would go into the system. Another sad kid who had somehow fallen through the cracks and would now probably spend the rest of his life trying to make life a bit grayer and nastier for those around him. And Tony was weary of it all, the pettiness and meanness of so many people; he had spent his working life trying to rescue people from all this sadness. He closed the case file, tapped it on the desk and prepared to leave. Something made him have one more try.

"Listen, kid, I reckon you've got one more go before you end up doing heavy duty time in jail. You're just about young enough not to be invisible yet, someone might still think you're worth giving a chance to. But carry on with this sort of mindless rubbish and you'll just be another loser going down the pan. Think about it."

"Why would you care?" and Dean finally summoned the energy to look Tony in the eye. Tony gazed down at him and considered what to say,

"I've seen too many kids like you, Dean and I hate waste. I think you're miserable and lonely and you can't stand to see anyone else being happy, so you smash things up and grind them into the dust ... but it doesn't make your misery go away. So ask for help, take it when it's given and man up. You're running out of time. Here's my card – call me if you decide to use your brain for a change. I'll see what I can do."

"Yeah, right", said Dean as he lifted a finger in a crude gesture.

Tony turned away, his sharp ears catching the sound of the business card being ripped up.

"I'll call Metro."

Tony took a deep breath as he closed the door behind him and then looked up, surprised, as Gibbs walked up to him.

"Didn't think anyone would be watching, Boss. Not my best work."

Gibbs looked at him with something like sympathy.

"Nothing you could do, DiNozzo. Turn it over to Metro, let them deal with it."

"I know, Boss. It just makes me so ..."

"Mad, depressed, sad, helpless ...?" suggested Gibbs.

"All of the above, and more," agreed Tony with an humorless laugh. Gibbs slapped him on the shoulder and led the way to the squad room. McGee and Ziva were still there, already working on their next case.

"That was quick," said Tim.

"He didn't have a whole lot to say, McGee."

"And you did not fill in the gaps, Tony? That is unlike you." said Ziva. "Did it not remind you of a movie?"

"Only a really depressing one that I wouldn't want to see again."

"At least it was over quickly," said Tim, "didn't take us away from anything important."

Tony sat down at his desk and put Dean's file in front of him. He placed his head in his hands for a moment or two and then picked up the phone,

"Gregor, Tony DiNozzo here, we've got one for you ..."

Gibbs made a decision.

"All right, everyone, let's call it a day. Go home, we'll start again tomorrow."

The team looked up in shock, it was only 17.30.

"OK, Boss," said Tony, "I'll wait for Metro to arrive and then go."

"No need, I'll do that," said Gibbs.

"You sure, Boss? Cos, that's really nice of you, not that you can't be nice ..." Tony trailed off. The others could see that he was trying to be his usual goofy self but that his heart wasn't in it so he had given up before the hole was as big as he would normally have made it. Gibbs just quirked an indulgent half smile and jerked his head in the direction of the elevator. Ziva and McGee were already half way there. Tony nodded gratefully and turned to follow them. Gibbs called him back,

"You still planning on your weekend away?"

"Don't know, I'm not sure I'll be good company."

"Thought you said that godson of yours was going to be there?"

"That's right, Jake's going to be back from Camp."

"Going through a bit of a bad patch, eh?"

"Yeah," said a clearly puzzled Tony. The Boss wasn't usually so concerned about what he got up to outside of work.

"Go a coupla days early, you've got the time on the books – take some of that Comp time you're always building up. Don't come in tomorrow."

"Boss? What's going on?"

"You were too late to help with Dean, why not go and see a boy who hasn't fallen through the cracks yet."

Tony realised that Gibbs understood his despair and he nodded gratefully and turned back to his desk.

"I'll just tidy everything up so everything's ready for McSubstitute."

"No, just go. McGee will manage."

"I seriously doubt that ..." Tony saw Gibbs glaring at him, "let me correct that. I'm sure McGee will manage ... and if he doesn't, he'll enjoy telling me all about it. Thanks, Boss. See you next week. Are you sure about this? Of course, you're sure, I'm gone."

And he nearly was but as he waited for the elevator, Tony couldn't resist one more try,

"Perhaps you could talk to Dean?"

Gibbs just flapped his hand at his senior field agent and watched to make sure he really went.

NCIS

Tony kicked his shoes off and undid his tie as soon as he got through the door of his apartment.

"Honey, I'm home!" he called out. "Hey, Kate, how's your day been?" He dropped a flake or two of food into her tank, "Sorry, it's not tofu but I think it's still good for you." He paused for a moment to watch the goldfish delicately take the food and then resume her tranquil swimming. He picked up his cell and hit one of the speed dial numbers,

"HI, Lia, it's me, Gibbs has let me off a couple days early. Can I come up tomorrow instead of the weekend? ... nothing wrong ... you sure? Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. Ciao."

Tony smiled as he put the cell down. Lia always made him smile. He looked across at Kate still swimming around and wondered how the human Kate would have reacted to knowing that Tony was 'just friends' with a woman and managed to be friends with her husband as well. He seemed to remember a conversation when he had denied the possibility of a single person being friends with a married couple ...

The young Tony DiNozzo had met Cecilia MacIntosh during Hell Week at Ohio State University and they had stayed friends ever since. They had gone on a couple of dates but then Andrew Drummond had made his appearance and swept Lia off her feet. Drew and Lia had never looked at anyone else, engaged after twelve months, married as soon as they graduated and somehow Tony had been friends with both of them all the time. His team might have been surprised that it was not that unusual for Tony to stay friends with former flames although even he was surprised that the friendship with Drew had also flourished.

Drew had gone into the US Navy and Lia had accompanied him on various postings as he climbed through the ranks. She was a free-lance graphic designer and had managed to build a good reputation despite moving around so much. Earlier in the year, however, she had inherited her father's old farm in Middle Hampton in Virginia and she and Drew had decided to make it their home. Drew was expecting a posting in Annapolis so the timing was good. The plan was to turn the old farm buildings into art studios and run short painting courses or retreats for jaded city dwellers from Washington. There would also be a couple of self-contained cabins in the more remote parts for people who wanted a taste of real seclusion. They hoped that twelve year old Jake, their son and Tony's godson, would benefit from a more rural and settled way of life after moving around so much. Tony hadn't seen much of them over the years so was glad they had moved closer. The visit this weekend had two purposes; one to catch up with his friends and the other to be a guinea pig for the painting course. Now, Tony realised, there was a third purpose: 'connect' with Jake and see if he could help.

With two extra days of vacation, Tony decided he would need Mrs Smith-Jones, one of his neighbors, to look after Kate while he was away. He had thought about using the automatic dried food dispenser but didn't really like leaving her alone; he knew it was foolish but he thought she got lonely when he wasn't around to pass on the NCIS gossip. In any case, he knew that Mrs S-J, Gladys, would enjoy fish sitting. He went out to buy Kate a new container of food and also picked up chocolate éclairs from the patisserie around the corner. He knew that Mrs S-J, who was originally from the United Kingdom, would like both to eat them _and_ tell him that they were not nearly as tasty as those she used to buy from Fortnum and Mason's when she had lived in London.

His visit to Mrs S-J took three hours: it didn't take long to eat the pastries or explain fish sitting duties but the elderly Gladys lived alone and didn't get out much. A visit from her handsome neighbor was a treat to be savored and, on this occasion, thanks to Gibbs, Tony had the time to indulge her. It was gone 23.00 by the time he got back to his apartment bearing three different types of loose leaf tea which Gladys insisted he should try. He really should introduce her to Ducky, he mused.

The three hours of undemanding chatter with Gladys had soothed his jangled nerves and he felt much more relaxed. The memory of blank, pale blue eyes and bitten nails had begun to fade a little. Now he could look forward to five peaceful days with his friends in the depths of the Virginia countryside. What could possibly go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

Tony lay in bed wondering why he always woke up easily on the days when he didn't have to get up and yet found it almost impossible to do so the rest of the week. It was only 06.00 so he decided to roll over and try for a few more minutes sleep. He had just closed his eyes with a blissful sigh when he heard a thumping on the door. He recognised the timbre of the banging and knew there was no point in playing possum. He groaned and made his way to the door.

"You gave me the day off, Gibbs, don't change your mind now," he grumbled. He threw the door open and glared sleepily at his far too wide-awake boss. Gibbs grinned almost cheerfully and thrust a coffee cup into Tony's hand. He sniffed it and felt his mood beginning to lift as he smelled the hazelnut creamer wafting its way to his nostrils.

"I mean, thank you very much, Boss. You are a prince among men." Gibbs' snort could have meant anything but Tony chose to interpret it as "Duh!" "What can I do for you, Boss?"

Gibbs' only reply was to throw something to Tony who just managed to catch it one-handed without spilling his precious caffeine.

"Car keys?"

"I knew there was a reason I told your father you're the best young agent I ever worked with," said Gibbs approvingly. "Although, you're wrong, They're not car keys."

Tony looked a bit closer, feeling a bit giddy at Gibbs' unexpected words of praise.

"Truck keys," he corrected himself, "Why?"

"Long drive to Middle Hampton. Thought the truck would be better – I got the guys in MTAC to do a shot of the terrain out there. Some of the roads are a bit bumpy – my truck will stand up to it better than your fancy show car."

Tony didn't know where to begin. Part of him was offended at the thought that his car was not considered macho enough to drive in Virginia but the bigger part of him was overwhelmed at Gibbs' thoughtfulness.

"Thanks, Boss," then an awful thought struck him, "you're not going to take my car instead, are you?" He winced at the thought of his sleek beauty falling into the calloused hands of the driver from hell.

"No, don't worry, but I will get you to give me a ride into work."

"And what'll you do the rest of the time?"

"Well, McGee enjoyed driving me around so much last time that I figured he could do the same again."

Tony groaned. "McGee's going to really love me, isn't he? First I go off and leave him in the lurch and then he ends up being your best bud for the week". Gibbs' evil grin made Tony realise how cruel his boss could be. Gibbs decided to exercise his boss's prerogative and go in 'late' to work. That meant that Tony had time to pack, load up the truck and take Gibbs for breakfast and still get the boss to work for 09.00. As he hit the road out to Middle Hampton, he realised that Gibbs had worked some sort of magic again – left to himself he would probably have lazed around a bit, second-guessed himself about whether he should be going and not been on the road until midday. He decided that all made up for the inadequacies of Gibbs' car radio which seemed to be stuck on a 24 hour weather station.

NCIS

Gibbs was in a good mood when Tony dropped him off at the Navy Yard. He had managed to thwart Tony's attempt to come in and say goodbye to everyone and he was looking forward to seeing how Ziva and McGee were reacting to his and Tony's absence. He was not disappointed. The junior agents were clearly torn between wanting to protect Tony from Gibbs' wrath and simultaneously wanting to avoid any fall out themselves.

"Gibbs, good morning to you," said Ziva, "I think Abby would like to see you in her lab." She was clearly hoping that Tony would make an appearance while Gibbs was absent. Gibbs silently commended that as a good effort. He looked at Tony's empty chair and noted that a jacket was hanging over the back. He recognised it as McGee's coat and found his heart to be strangely warmed – McGee obviously hoped that he would not know it was _his_ coat and would think that Tony had arrived but was somewhere else in the building. He was pleased at McGee's loyalty although a little disappointed that Tim would think Gibbs' wouldn't know the difference in their wardrobes. Still, they had done enough to deserve to be put out of their misery quickly.

"DiNozzo won't be in. He's gone off to Middle Hampton a coupla days early."

"Monthly requisitions are due today," said McGee nervously. He saw Gibbs' raised eyebrow, "So, I'll get on them straightaway". He looked across at Tony's chair wondering how he could retrieve his jacket.

"Lent DiNozzo my truck, so you'll be driving me for a few days, McGee. Going down to Abby, see what she wants." And he was gone in his usual brisk way. Ziva picked up the phone at once to warn Abby of his approach while McGee went to get his jacket back,

"No point in being subtle, I'm dead anyway," he said glumly.

Gibbs did his round of Abby's lab and autopsy so he could be sure that all was well in his kingdom. The Director didn't venture out of his office so all proceeded smoothly and quietly. There was an occasional grunt of annoyance from McGee as he wrestled with Tony's spreadsheet but all went well. Tony hated paperwork which meant, logically but to McGee's surprise, that he had simplified it so much that even Gibbs would have been able to manage it.

The team continued to do their paperwork. Director Vance did come down but only to praise them for dealing with the Dean Watkins case so neatly.

"Where's DiNozzo?" he asked.

"Taking a couple days," came the brief reply.

Vance nodded approvingly,

"Good, I thought he'd looked a bit tired the last few days." With that, he nodded to everyone and made his way back to his office leaving an astonished silence in his wake. As the various members of the MCRT considered their response, the silence was broken by the sound of Gibbs' phone,

"Yeah, Gibbs," he listened to the message, "Gear up."

"Uh, Boss," ventured McGee, "I thought we were off rotation as Tony's not in?"

"That is normal protocol," offered Ziva even as she was strapping on her weapon.

"Just got a call to Middle Hampton in Virginia. Seems someone is waving a gun at DiNozzo. What's the protocol for that, Special Agent David?"

NCIS

The first three hours of Tony's rural retreat had been all that he could have asked for. He had been welcomed warmly by Lia, a bit more coolly by twelve year old Jake and ecstatically by Turk, the family's new puppy, a Labrador/collie cross which was just being allowed out for the first time. Drew wasn't there. Jake had given him a tour of the family's house and also of the old cook house which had been converted into a big kitchen/dining area for the guests. They had gone into the stables which were also being re-modelled into en-suite bedrooms. Tony was impressed both with the work that had been done and the beauty of the surroundings.

"So, do you like it here, Jake? Lots of room to run around?" Tony winced at the lameness of the question but it seemed that Jake was used to awkward adults.

"It's all right, I suppose. Mom says I might be able to get a horse."

"Wow, a horse. That sounds great."

I got kicked by a horse once," came the unpromising reply.

"They do that sometimes," sympathised Tony, "but I don't think they do it to their owners." They walked a bit further in silence and then Jake burst out with,

"Uncle Tony, what's boarding school like?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Mom and Dad asked me if I want to go."

"And how do you feel about it?"

"Don't know, it might be OK, I s'pose. Dad said you liked boarding school? Is that true?"

Tony considered how to answer. On one level he _had_ liked boarding school – lots of people around him, an opportunity to shine at sport, to make friends, it had given him a certain sort of brittle confidence but he knew that it had all come at a price. He had never really lost the sense that people had to be _paid_ to care for him because the person who should have done it for nothing was simply incapable of doing so. Tony was aware of a minefield before him so he decided to ask a question of his own.

"You know your parents love you, right?"

Frank brown eyes looked back at him,

"Of course," the tone of the reply was that nobody could be stupid enough to doubt that. Tony's mind was partly put at rest.

"OK, ..., well, let me think ..." he broke off as he heard car brakes screeching and saw a cloud of dust coming down the access road, "what's going on? Jake, do you know that car?"

Jake peered at the car which was weaving its way towards them.

"No, don't think so. We don' t get many visitors here."

"Right, here's what I want you to do. Pick up Turk, go back into the house and find your Mom. Stay there until I tell you it's all right to come out. Go on. Go and look after your Mom."

Jake did as he was told, running backwards as much as possible so he could see what was going on. The car came to a halt just in front of Tony who had picked up a large yard brush, the only thing resembling a weapon he could find.

"Hello," said Tony in as cheerful a voice as he could, "can I do something for you?"

A young man climbed out of the car and staggered a little. Tony judged him to be in his mid-twenties. He had blond close cropped hair and, despite his unsteadiness, seemed to have a military upright bearing.

"Where is he?" the stranger shouted.

"Who are you looking for?" asked Tony

"Commander Drummond ... where is he?" He wobbled a bit more and, apparently feeling he wasn't making a big enough impression, pulled out a gun from the back of his waistband, "I said, where is he?"

"He's not here," said Tony, "can I help you instead? What's your name, sailor?"

The man didn't query how Tony had guessed that he was in the Navy,

"Petty Officer Frank Luke. I need to see Commander Drummond ... NOW".

Tony's mind was racing. He was pretty sure that Lia would have phoned for help as soon as she saw the gun and he suspected that somehow Gibbs would be on his way. It had taken Tony three and a half hours of leisurely driving to arrive; no doubt a hurrying Gibbs would cut that time considerably but there would still be at least two hours to wait.

"I'm considered to be a pretty good listener. Why don't you tell me what's going on Petty Officer Fluke?"

"It's Luke, not Fluke. Everyone gets it wrong, they all think it's funny," said Luke in a trembling voice. He waved the gun a bit in Tony's direction but it seemed a bit half-hearted now. "Who are you, anyway?"

Tony wondered what to say but in the end he decided to go with the truth,

"Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, NCIS. Now why don't you tell me what's going on, Petty Officer so that we can work out what to do." His instinct was right, it seemed that speaking with an authoritative voice appealed to something in PO Luke and over the next couple of hours, as Tony leaned on the yard broom, Luke managed to tell his story relatively coherently.

It turned out that Drew Drummond was Luke's commanding officer. Luke had been put on report for persistent lateness and sloppiness. Various punishments and sanctions had been applied and now it seemed likely that Luke would be demoted or possibly discharged completely. Luke was the fourth generation of his family to serve in the Navy and he couldn't bear the shame of being punished. A final hearing was due in the new few weeks and he had become more and more worried until finally he decided he had to confront his CO and persuade him to drop the charges. He had heard a rumor that Drummond had moved his family into Virginia and so, after a visit to a number of bars, had made his way to Middle Hampton.

The story seemed to make complete sense to Luke but Tony couldn't quite understand how it had all happened. It appeared as if Luke had been a competent, if not brilliant, sailor for five years and then seemed to go off the rails. Tony probed a bit more and soon discovered that Luke's girlfriend had suffered from depression following the birth of their son. The depression had taken the form of buying expensive clothes and toys for the baby in a bid to prove that she cared for him. Inevitably the debts had grown until the young couple did not know what to do. Luke had started moonlighting at another job but he had been unable to juggle the two jobs. Worry and exhaustion had taken their toll and had led to his being put on report.

"Did you tell Commander Drummond all this?" asked Tony.

It had clearly never occurred to Luke to explain to anyone that he was having problems. Tony understood how pride could drive someone but he found it hard to believe that nobody had asked the petty officer what was going on. He wondered what sort of CO his friend was. He began to be a bit more hopeful that things could get sorted out, preferably before the MCRT came muscling in.

"Look, Frank," he began, "why don't you give me your gun and we'll start to think what to do. We'll get you sobered up and back to base. You haven't gone UA have you?" At Luke's affirmative nod, Tony sighed a bit more deeply but decided to press on. The memory of those pale blue eyes from the day before rose before him.

"Give me your gun," he said again and held out his hand. Frank nodded and looked relieved that someone was going to take charge at last. He moved towards Tony and held out the gun.

It was inevitable, Tony reflected afterwards, that his teammates chose that moment to arrive.

"NCIS! Drop your weapon, Luke!" roared Gibbs.

"Now!" shouted McGee.

Luke jumped and threw the weapon to the ground. The safety catch was off and the gun went off as it hit the dust. Fortunately the bullet did not hit anyone but it sent a stone spinning up into Tony's face and caught him a glancing blow on the cheek causing blood to gush out. Luke followed his gun to the ground and cowered there in terror. As Gibbs and the team rushed forward Tony came forward with one hand raised.

"It's OK, there's just been a misunderstanding. No harm done."

"DiNozzo, you're bleeding," pointed out Gibbs, "I'd say some harm has been done."

"He's held you hostage with a gun," said McGee, "that's more than a misunderstanding."

"OK, perhaps it's a bit more than a misunderstanding but let's not overreact. McGee, why don't you take Luke into the cookhouse there and get him a glass of water. He's had a tough day."

Gibbs nodded agreement to McGee. Ziva went into the house to reassure the Drummonds that all was well.

"OK, DiNozzo, spit it out."

"I think he's had a rough deal, Boss. His girlfriend's depressed, he's run up debts, doing two jobs – and not very well, I may say. And it doesn't look as if the Navy has looked after him well."

Gibbs nodded agreement. Lia had emailed a photo of Luke to them and McGee had identified him and managed to do research during the terrifying drive from Washington and had confirmed much of what DiNozzo had discovered simply by talking to Luke. It was all a mess, an unnecessary mess. Lia and Jake came running out of the house anxious to see how Tony was. Tony tried to brush their concern away but Gibbs could see that he was beginning to wobble a bit from blood loss and reaction. He whistled sharply and shortly afterwards, Ducky and Palmer drove round the corner.

"My dear boy," said Ducky, "I think you need to sit down while I have a look at that."

There was a brief skirmish over where Tony should be treated. He didn't want to go indoors and spill blood on the floor while Lia wanted to drag him in bodily. Gibbs settled it with a glare and Tony went meekly inside to the kitchen where Ducky bathed and butterfly taped the cut together while Jake looked on with eyes as big as saucers.

While Tony drank a mug of hot sweet tea, Gibbs got Ducky to take a look at the still shaking Luke. He explained something of the history behind the day's events. Ducky looked disapproving.

"I can talk to the medical officer of the Petty Officer's base. I'll explain something of the background and suggest that PFC Luke seems to have suffered from some sort of breakdown. It doesn't excuse his actions of course but I think we all agree that they should be taken into account. Jethro, is it really the case that no-one was aware of the extent of the young man's problems?"

"Doesn't look like it, Duck."

Dr Mallard tutted, "Mr Palmer and I will take the young Petty Officer back with us. I don't think he will cause us any problem and a medical 'evacuation' will look less severe than going back in handcuffs."

"Thanks, Duck. We won't be far behind you. Just want to check on DiNozzo."

He wasn't really surprised to find that DiNozzo was talking to Luke.

"Look, Frank, I'm not going to pretend this isn't bad but don't make it worse. Tell everyone the truth about you and Sadie – they can help you. I won't press charges – as far as I'm concerned it was just an accident and you were giving yourself up."

"Thank you, Special Agent DiNozzo. You're the first person who's listened. I'm really sorry – I didn't even know that the gun was loaded. I'd have never waved it around if I'd known. I hate guns."

"I'm not so fond of them myself after today," joked Tony.

"Thanks for coming, Boss," he said, as he walked the team back to the van, "bet you set a new land speed record on the way."

"Not me, left it to Ziva," said Gibbs.

"My poor green Probie," said Tony giving McGee a 'comforting' hug.

"Get off," grumbled McGee, but with a smile.

"Only you could run into so much trouble on a painting holiday," said Ziva as she climbed into the passenger seat, much to Tim's relief.

Tony stood in the drive way and watched his team drive away. Jake and Lia came and stood next to him.

"I was so worried, Tony", said Lia, "are you sure you're all right?"

"I think I'd feel better, Lia, if I knew where your husband was. Care to share?"


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to the Guest who pointed out that I'd got Frank Luke's rank wrong. Sorry! I'll go back and fix it later. Now, on with the story._

_Tony stood in the drive way and watched his team drive away. Jake and Lia came and stood next to him._

"_I was so worried, Tony" said Lia, "are you sure you're all right?"_

"_I think I'd feel better, Lia, if I knew where your husband was. Care to share?"_

Lia had greeted Tony with her normal warmth and exuberance but he had sensed that something wasn't quite right. He had been surprised that Drew wasn't around and even more surprised that his tour of the farm had been delegated to Jake – he had expected that Lia would have wanted to show him everything herself and explain their plans in minute detail. Instead she had passed him over to Jake and said something about going in to make supper.

Tony had decided not to ask awkward questions and instead took the opportunity to spend time with Jake. Then, of course, Frank Luke had arrived and created his own diversion. It was as Tony watched the team drive away that he realised what had been teasing the back of his mind in the minutes following the resolution of the 'Luke crisis'. As far as he could tell, Lia hadn't contacted Drew to let him know what had happened and that they were all safe and, relatively, unharmed. It seemed out of character for such a devoted couple. So when Lia had come out of the house, Tony had decided not to wait any longer but to ask one of the questions that had been puzzling him,

"Where's Drew, Lia? I thought he was going to be here."

Lia turned to Jake,

"Jake, honey, go into the house will you and see if Turk is OK. I shut him in the den when Mr Luke arrived and I thought I heard him barking just now. He'll want to come out."

"OK, Mom," said Jake, and ran off to investigate what the puppy was up to. Lia turned back to Tony,

"Drew had to work this weekend, er ... something came up."

Tony looked a bit skeptical, "And you had to send Jake into the house so he didn't hear that? Try again, Lia. What's going on?"

"It really is work, Tony. You know what it's like." Seeing Tony's steady gaze fixed on her, she laughed,

"Is that the look you use on your suspects – sort of sad and disappointed? 'Cos I have to tell you it's very effective!"

She was surprised to see Tony grimace slightly and to hear him mutter,

"Didn't work very well, yesterday. Go on, spill."

"Come inside and have another cup of tea, you still look as if you've just run five miles on an empty stomach. I'll tell you all about it."

A few minutes later, sitting in the kitchen, sipping their tea and munching on some home-made cookies, Lia told the story.

"Drew's been working on a hush-hush new weapon program for the Navy – don't ask me the details, Drew hasn't told me anything. You know how seriously he takes secrecy. Anyway, lots of firms were involved in bidding for doing the work and Drew was key in awarding the contracts, overseeing the process – you know the sort of thing."

Tony nodded. Drew was excellent at his job of procurement – he had an eye for detail, thorough knowledge of Navy procedures and the ability to assimilate technical information quickly. When Drew left the Navy he would easily find a top job as a project manager in any field he chose. Lia continued,

"It's been a long project; nearly a year, the biggest Drew has ever worked on. A couple of months ago, the Navy was about to award the contract when they found out that some of the specs for the new weapon were missing. Well, you can imagine the uproar, the implications – leaks, sabotage, terrorism if the weapon got into the hands of our enemies."

"So, Drew's got to work at finding out what's happened to the missing plans?" asked Tony.

"He got recalled to the base he'd been working from and we hardly heard from him for about a month. Then it seemed that everything was sorted and he was supposed to be on his way back in time for this weekend. We'd been looking forward to it."

"So why isn't he here?"

"I had a phone call this morning, saying nothing to worry about but he had to stay put for a while and would be out of contact again. I thought it was all worked out – Drew didn't give me any details but it sounded as if everything was OK. I even wondered if it had been a false alarm but now everything seems to be a mess again."

"Drew's not in trouble, is he?"

"You know Drew, he's good at his job. I can't see that he's made a mess of the project but now he's been called away again."

"How did he sound on the phone?"

"it wasn't him who called. His CO called and said he'd been called away but not to tell anyone.. Honestly, if it wasn't that I knew about the earlier flap I wouldn't have been worried. Annoyed perhaps, but not worried; it's not unusual for Drew to get sucked in to work like this. That's one reason I'm looking forward to him starting the new posting at Annapolis – a few years lecturing at the Navy Academy will be a nice change. I'm sure everything's fine ... I'll call Admiral Jennings later and let him know what's happened."

Tony still had his doubts but couldn't see any point in asking any more questions. Lia was right that Drew was meticulous about not sharing details about his work so it was unlikely that she knew anything more. There was something else he needed to raise although he felt a bit awkward bringing it up.

"Are you sure you and Jake want me around? You know, with Drew not here".

Lia stared at him in astonishment and then burst out laughing.

"Tony DiNozzo, are you trying to protect my honor?"

Tony shrugged in embarrassment, "I don't want to cause any problem. I can come back some other time."

"Because you get so much free time it wouldn't be any problem to get more time off? Listen, DiNozzo, you're our oldest friend and this is the 21st century not the 19th ... I don't think anyone would be shocked to know that you were staying here."

"OK, OK. Hey, didn't you say there was a cabin on the other side of the ridge. I could go and stay there if you want."

"It ... it's not ready yet. Anyway, after Mr Fluke's visit this afternoon, I'd feel happier if you were closer.

"Luke, not Fluke ... ouch ..." said Tony, as he touched his cheek, "I think I'm going to have a black eye tomorrow."

"I'd give you a steak to put on it but we've gone vegetarian so there's only soya in the house." Lia laughed again at Tony's outraged expression, "Just kidding, can you really see Drew giving up the flesh?"

"I've had enough shocks for today," grumbled Tony.

"I'll start cooking some of that flesh," said Lia, "why don't you go and see what Jake and Turk are up to in the den?"

Tony found Jake trying, without much success, to teach Turk to fetch a ball. The throws seemed to be getting a bit out of control and Tony feared for the safety of windows and ornaments. A change of venue seemed in order.

"Your Mom was telling me that you're pretty good at shooting hoops, Jake. Do you want to show me some of your moves?"

Jake nodded eagerly and ran outside with the already faithful Turk trying to keep up. Tony laughed and swooped down to pick the puppy up and follow Jake. Half an hour later, Jake was being to flag. Turk had valiantly tried to chase every ball but had worn himself out and was now asleep across one of Tony's feet, one shoelace in his mouth. Tony had managed to perform the instructor's trick of sitting down to observe while encouraging and correcting the boy's shooting. Jake was ecstatic to have had so much one on one coaching; loyalty might have prevented him from saying it but he thought his godfather might be an even better player than his dad. He came and sat down next to Tony,

"That was great, Uncle Tony," he said, "Dad put the hoop up weeks ago but he hasn't had time to play with me yet," he kicked a stone moodily, "he never has time."

"Your Dad's got an important job to do," said Tony a bit tentatively.

"I _know_," sighed Jake, "and Mom says we've got to live in some great places because of all Dad's postings but ... but ... sometimes I think I'd rather live somewhere ordinary and have a Dad that was around . I'm fed up with keep having to make new friends because we're moving again."

"I think your Mom and Dad mean this place to be your home for a long time," tried Tony.

"They've said that before and it's never happened."

"But, like you said before, you know they love you."

"Sure, but it doesn't mean that they don't love other things more," pointed out Jake with inescapable logic.

Tony almost regretted that Lia hadn't taken up his offer of retreating to Washington.

"There are different types of love, Jake; your Dad loves his country and he loves the Navy but he loves you and your Mom just as much. When you get older you'll find that things pull you in different directions, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. It's not easy – your Dad doesn't like having to let you down. I bet he misses you as much, even more, than you miss him. I know I would."

Jake looked up at him, "Do you really think he misses Mom and me when he's away? He never says so."

Tony cast around for something to say and then remembered something,

"When I was Agent Afloat, your Dad's ship was in the same port as the Ronald Reagan and I went on board to see him. He was only going to be posted there for a month but the wall of his cabin was plastered with photos of you and your Mom. I don't think he'd do that if he didn't miss you, do you?"

Jake thought for a moment or so and then his face lit up with a beaming smile,

"Really?"

Tony nodded,

"Wow, that's cool!"

"Supper's ready", called Lia, "wash up, boys."

Turk lifted himself off Tony's foot, Tony and Jake stood up eagerly and Tony promptly tripped over the shoelace which Turk had helpfully pulled loose. Jake obviously thought this was hilarious. Tony grinned , put his godson in a headlock and marched him into the kitchen.

NCIS

Back at the Navy Yard the MCRT was writing up, in as undramatic form as possible, that afternoon's excursion to Middle Hampton. They were getting ready to call it a day and McGee was waiting to drive Gibbs home when Director Vance went through the squad room on his way out for the night.

"I understand you got called out to Agent DiNozzo this afternoon?"

"That's right, Leon. Turned out to be a bit of a misunderstanding," explained Gibbs, "nothing to worry about."

"Some misunderstanding about Commander Andrew Drummond?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem?"

"Don't know. I've just heard something odd about a project the Commander's been working on. Some papers went missing and people got a bit twitchy. Now the base has gone into lockdown and nobody knows where Drummond is. SecNav doesn't know what's going on. Feels like some vultures might be circling."

"Should we be concerned?" asked McGee.

"Don't know," admitted the Director, "what's that word Ms Scuito uses?"

"Hinky?" said Ziva.

"Hinky ... yes, something feels a bit hinky. Let's just be ready."

"For what, Director?" asked Gibbs.

"For your gut," said Vance cryptically, "Good night."

Gibbs watched the Director get into the elevator. "McGee, first thing in the morning, find out everything you can about Commander Drummond. Like the Director said, let's be ready."

"On it, Boss. You don't think, I mean, you don't think anything's going to happen do you?" asked McGee a little worriedly.

"When DiNozzo's in the mix, who knows?" said Gibbs, "call it a night now and we'll get on it tomorrow."

NCIS

As predicted, Tony woke up the next morning with a stiff cheek and a black eye but otherwise fine. He dug out his running gear and went downstairs as quietly as possible intending to slip out for a morning run. He had reckoned without the enthusiasm of the sociable Turk who barked with delight when he entered the kitchen where he slept. He was trying to get the pup to calm down when Lia came in.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I was trying to go out quietly for a run but Cujo here had other ideas!"

"D'you think that's a good idea? Pounding up and down is going to jar your cheek ... that is a spectacular black eye, by the way, reminds me of that match with Michigan when you zigged instead of zagged."

"I'll have you know that I don't 'pound' when I run, I bound like a gazelle and also that it was your fiancé who didn't do the zigging properly."

"Whatever. Dr Mallard left me his phone number. I think I'll call him and get his medical opinion."

Tony looked glum but defeated, "OK, but I expect you to make me blueberry pancakes with peanut butter."

"Go and get dressed and I'll start cooking. You'll need a good breakfast, you've got a big morning of being a guinea-pig, remember, 'Mr Crime-scene-sketch-expert'.

NCIS

The breakfast burritos had been eaten and the dregs of the morning coffees had cooled by the time McGee had finished his research into Commander Drummond.

"What you got, McGee?" asked Gibbs as he saw McGee was ready. Ziva joined Gibbs in front of the plasma as McGee clicked the clicker to bring up Drummond's service photo which showed a man with a stern face and resolute mouth.

"Commander Andrew Drummond, born in Chicago, attended OSU in ... well, in the same year as Tony. Double major in economics and politics. Did well but his professors said he would have done better if he hadn't spent so much time playing basket ball. Member of the Alpha Chi Delta fraternity along with well, Tony. Married Cecilia MacIntosh shortly after graduation and joined the Navy. Fairly rapid promotions, lots of postings and is considered to be one of the best logistics/procurement experts the Navy has. He's about to start a three year posting to Annapolis."

"And the farm?" queried Gibbs.

"Middle Hampton ranch. Belonged to Robert MacIntosh who died last year. He left it jointly to his son Mark and daughter Cecilia, Lia, Drummond. They sold off most of the land and it seems that Mark took the money from that while the Drummonds decided to keep a bit of the land, mostly woods and a small quarry, plus the farm buildings to set up a sort of painting school and studio with a couple of cabins for people to stay in if they wanted to be on their own. Well, we saw some of it yesterday."

"It all seemed to be being done to a very high standard," reflected Ziva, "expensive?"

"Very," agreed McGee, "but it all seems to be legit. Drummond used his negotiating skills and procurement expertise to get good contracts. Finances all seem to add up. Doesn't look as if there's any financial pressure."

"And what about his most recent posting?" asked Ziva.

"Currently based on a small top secret depot just outside Norfolk. He's been in charge of the development and putting out to tender of a new Navy weapon – really secret and not much detail available. Seems he's done his usual thorough job although it's taken longer than expected. Some of the firms who put in for the work turned out not to be quite as squeaky clean as the Navy would like. The Commander seems to have been the one who spotted the problems."

"And what about the issue the Director was talking about?" asked Gibbs.

"All a bit of a mystery, Boss. There was a big flap a few weeks ago when it looked as if something had gone missing. Drummond was pulled back in to help with the investigation and seemed to get it sorted out. And then, yesterday it all seemed to blow up again."

"Is Commander Drummond considered to be a suspect at all in this?" queried Ziva.

"It would be out of character," said McGee, "he seems to be a dedicated, honest and highly competent officer, very well thought of. Very much by the book. Scuttlebutt suggests respected rather than liked. No reprimands in his jacket."

"He seems, does he not, to be a rather unlikely friend for Tony?" said Ziva, "I cannot picture Tony with someone so ... so ... proper?"

"Perhaps he's changed. Some of the pictures and stories from OSU days suggests that he was a real practical joker then... really elaborate stuff."

The phone rang on Tony's desk. McGee answered it,

"Agent DiNozzo's desk ... no, he's not here at the moment. Can I take a message ... OK, I'll let him know. Thank you," he put the phone down. "That's odd. That was Gregor, Tony's friend from Metro, phoning to say that Dean Watkins was still refusing to talk. Said he'd let Tony know if anything changed. Who's Dean Watkins?"

"The guy who tore up the kids' playground," reminded Gibbs.

"Oh, yeah. Why was Tony so interested in him anyway? Just seemed an open and shut case, nothing to get excited about."

Gibbs was about to answer him when his own phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs ... DiNozzo ... any more visitors arrived?" The others tried, unsuccessfully, to listen in. The conversation didn't last long.

"What's up, Boss," asked McGee.

"DiNozzo wanted to know if we've got anyone watching the farm. He thinks someone might be staking them out."


	4. Chapter 4

Tony had wanted to go and paint something outside but Lia seemed keen that he stay inside the newly created studio 'to test out the light'. She also murmured something about it being a bit cold for Tony to sit out. He put it down to her being a bit on edge following Luke's visit the day before so he agreed.

Lia helped him set up his easel and began to give some instructions on the use of oil paints.

"Lia, you know I'm happy to help but don't try and turn me into an artist. I have to sketch things in a certain way for my job – I don't think Gibbs will appreciate it if I start turning out artistic stuff. The sketches are evidence in court sometimes."

Lia had given her usual thoughtful consideration to Tony's dilemma.

"OK, how about you don't try to draw anything but just do some abstract blocks of color. Look at something and just see the colours and try to reproduce them. That will be good practice for using colors, good for observation skills and you might produce something that looks good too."

Tony had done this for an hour or two and then decided he needed to stretch his legs.

"Lia, I'm going to go and set this up outside, the other side of the field." As she began to protest, he said,

"The sun's come up, it's much warmer now and I promise to wrap up well. I'll even wear that hideous scarf you knitted for me at Christmas!"

"Have it your own way," huffed Lia and then she called out, "Jake, Uncle Tony's going outside to paint. Why don't you and Turk go with him?"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you don't want me wandering around on my own. I am a trained Federal Agent you know, I'm sure I'll be OK." Tony looked searchingly at Lia as he said this and was not completely surprised to see her blush. She made no reply, however, and just tied the scarf around Tony's neck and shoved him out the door.

"Lunch in thirty minutes," she called out, "don't go so far you can't hear the gong!"

Tony looked at his watch, it was only 11.30am. Lia was certainly going for an early meal and he wouldn't be surprised if Jake arrived soon. He walked across to the far side of the field which bordered a scrubby woody area. A track led through the wood to one of the cabins which Lia had said was in the process of being refurbished. He set his easel up by the track, facing back towards the house intending to do some color blocks of the hills and sky behind. It had rained the night before and the track was a bit muddy.

As Tony looked at the ground to make sure he found a dry spot for his equipment he noticed two set of prints, a set of paw prints and a trail of two human prints which he guessed to be Jake's – he must have taken Turk out for a walk last night. Then he noticed another set of tracks underneath Jake's but these were bigger. Tony leant forward to look more closely, they were too large for Lia even if she was wearing her big work boots; they looked like male foot prints. He placed his own foot beside them although he knew he had not walked that way yet. The footprints were about the same size as his would be, suggesting another adult male was on the farm.

Tony looked back at the house and, in the fall sun, something glinted in the hills behind. He thought for a moment that it was a car windscreen catching the sun but realised that the road did not run that way. He looked again and caught the reflection again. If he didn't know better, he would think someone was up there with binoculars watching what was going on. He shook himself, he wasn't in the big bad city now, fighting crime, he was in his friends' peaceful country retreat trying to relax. A country retreat, he then reminded himself, that belonged to a US Navy officer who was engaged in some top secret Navy project that seemed to be going down the tubes. A country retreat where it seemed that there was an unexplained visitor and where his usually unflappable friend was decidedly jumpy. Another gleam from the trees decided him and he pulled his cell from his pocket and hit speed dial #1.

"Boss. DiNozzo here. I get the feeling we've got some visitors here ... you don't know anything about that do you? You didn't leave any surveillance here? ... you'll find out? OK, let me know what you find out. I might go out for a walk this afternoon, see what 's going on. Yes, I'll watch my six."

At that moment, the lunch gong sounded – five minutes early. Lia was certainly anxious to get him back. Turk was beside himself with excitement during lunch – so many people, so many delicious smells and so many shoe laces to tug at. He kept everyone laughing so it was impossible for Tony to tell if Lia was pre-occupied. Gibbs called back after lunch,

"Lia, it's my Boss, I'll go outside to take it. I'll see you later," and he was gone before she could think of a reason to keep him by her side.

"Yeah, Boss, what you found out?"

Gibbs updated Tony on what McGee had found out about Drummond's project and the way that the base had been put on shut down. That all seemed to tie in with what Lia had told him. "No-one's admitting to watching the farm, DiNozzo. We don't think it's Navy doing the watching ... hell, I hope we would know if it was. Do you want us to come down?"

Tony thought about this. " I don't know what you'd do, Boss. I'll have a scout around, might take a hike up into the hills, see if I can see what's going on. It'll probably just be bird watchers or youngsters. I'll let you know," and he snapped the phone shut to end the call. He hadn't see any flashes from the hills since he came out so decided to leave that for the moment and turn his attention to the potential intruder.

He wondered if it might be Drew, in trouble over the project and on the run. It seemed unlikely though. The Drew he knew now was steady, reliable, devoted to family and the Navy; hardly a candidate for going on the run. Drew was also highly intelligent, a strategist – surely he would have a better plan than running to the one place everyone would expect him to go. So Tony didn't expect to find Drew although he remembered the light-hearted, irresponsible young man McGee had unearthed in the Ohio archives. He smiled, he liked the adult, steady Drew but the Drew he had first known had been a real ball of fire.

Tony hoped it wasn't Drew but that then made things a bit uncertain. Who was he going to find and how would that person react to being found? He was pretty sure Lia knew someone was around, why else had she tried to keep him in the house or nearby? He decided it would be best to go through the wood and try to pick up the trail again but not to go the direct route which was clearly visible from the house. He would go in another direction and then double back out of sight.

NCIS

Gibbs put the phone down when DiNozzo disconnected and considered what his gut was telling him. He trusted Tony's instincts and thought it was likely that someone was up in the hills using binoculars but, like DiNozzo, thought there could be an innocent explanation. He didn't want to send the MCRT hurtling down there and disturb some courting couple.

"McGee."

"Yes, Boss."

"Call the sheriff in Middle Hampton. Tell him that we have a NCIS agent staying on the Macintosh farm and he thinks there may be someone spying on them. Ask him to send someone down, _discreetly mind,_ to see if he can see anything odd. Tell him not to do anything, but just take a look and let us know if he thinks anything's hinky."

"OK, Boss. Are we worried?" The only answer he got was a Gibbs stare so he did what he was told and called the obliging Sheriff.

NCIS

Tony approached the cabin quietly, glad that his casual 'country look' provided soft soled boots and old clothing which didn't rustle or creak. When he entered the clearing containing the hut, he saw lights shining through the windows. One of the windows was open and steam was coming out of it, Tony could smell the soup they had had for lunch come wafting through. He crept closer and crouched beneath the window. He heard a man's voice,

"But why do I have to go? It's bad enough I have to camp out in this hole rather than being up in the house. You won't even let me light the fire and it's freezing in here."

"You're lucky I let you stay _here_. Drew will go mad if he finds out you've come here." The voice was Lia's. "You said you'd only stay one night."

"You don't care about me, you never did, all you wanted was the money."

"Mark, you know that's not true ... put that down ..." Tony heard the safety catch of a weapon being pulled back. He ran to the door of the cabin and grasped the handle. He sighed with relief as he felt it turn – he took a deep breath to steady himself and pulled his knife out of the belt and just hoped it would help,

"Federal Agent! Put the gun down!"

As he entered the room he saw Lia about to reach out to the man who stood there, waving a shotgun as tears streamed down his face. Under the aroma of the soup Tony could smell stale alcohol and he experienced a sense of déjà vu from yesterday when PFC Luke had waved a gun in his face.

"Tony, don't hurt him," pleaded Lia, "he's not well. He isn't going to hurt anyone."

"Put the gun down and we'll sort this out," said Tony in a calm, firm voice. Mark looked bewildered, he looked at the shotgun in his hand as if he had never seen it before and, a bit like Luke the day before, he suddenly threw it to the ground in horror. History repeated itself in another way as the gun went off as it fell. Fortunately, however, this time everyone avoided the fall out and a window was the only casualty.

Mark sat down with a bump and Lia ran to embrace him. Tony picked the weapon up and made it safe.

"Ok, would someone like to explain what's going on?"

Lia took a shaky breath and began,

"Tony, you remember Mark, don't you?"

Tony did remember Mark – Lia's younger brother who somehow never seemed to get things right. It was almost a classic story of someone with brains, looks and a loving family, all the advantages and yet things always slipped through his fingers. He never got into big trouble – Drew had once said, rather bitterly, that he lacked the application to even get into trouble well. Lia loved Mark devotedly but Drew had long ago lost patience with him. When their father died leaving them the ranch there had been talk of the siblings going into business together but Drew had vetoed the idea. They had ended up selling most of the land and letting Mark have the money in the hope that would set him up for good. Mark was the only subject on which Lia and Drew did not agree and Tony was mostly on Drew's side.

"So, Mark, what are you doing here."

Mark's response was just to start sobbing into Lia's shoulder.

"OK," said Tony, "I think we all need some strong coffee," and he went into the kitchen area to put the kettle on. A few minutes later, they were all sitting down with their drinks and Mark began to calm down. Lia explained,

"Drew and Mark had a big argument last time they saw each other and Drew told Mark not to come here again. Last night, Mark phoned to ask if he could come and see me. I couldn't say no, he sounded awful. I told him he couldn't come to the house but he could come to the cabin."

"Why wouldn't you let him come to the house?" asked Tony.

"You were there. I didn't want to put you in the position of lying to Drew if he asked you if Mark had been here ... I thought Mark would just go away today and nobody would ever know. I didn't know he'd brought the drink with him or that he had the shotgun. I'd never have let him stay if I'd known."

Tony shook his head; dear, sweet Lia, looking out for everyone. Trying to love her brother, love her husband and protect her best friend from lying on her behalf. What a mess. Or, luckily, not too much of a mess. Hopefully they could just dry Mark out, fix the window and send him on his slightly pathetic way. Tony took another sip of his coffee and was about to suggest that Mark have something to eat to try and soak up some of the alcohol when an authoritative voice came from the door.

"Police. Everyone stay still and keep their hands where I can see them."

It was another MCRT slightly ill timed intervention. The Middle Hampton police had been about to do the requested sweep of the hills when they heard the gunshot and decided they should investigate. Tony was a bit tempted to let them arrest Mark for having a gun while intoxicated but couldn't bear to think of how that would hurt Lia. He identified himself as a NCIS agent and explained at least some of what had happened. Sherriff Kennedy was an experienced and busy man who made a pretty good guess at what had happened. He was pragmatic enough to decide that there was no point in pursuing this; the shocked look on Mark's face suggested that this might have frightened him into enough self awareness to put him on a steadier path in future. He spoke sternly to the shaken young man to let him know in no uncertain terms that he had better be on his best behavior when he next visited Middle Hampton. He and his deputy left shortly afterwards.

A few hours later, Mark also left. He had sobered up enough to drive away. Tony fixed the window and phoned Gibbs to let him know that he had found the intruder and there was nothing to worry about. He, Lia and Jake had supper, made popcorn, played with Turk and watched a movie before going to bed.

In the early hours of the morning, just before dawn Sherriff Kennedy and Tony both woke with a start as they realised they hadn't got round to checking the hills for watchers ...

The next day dawned bright and clear. When Tony went down in the morning, he found Lia relaxed , cheerful and laughing at Turk who was fighting the floor mop in the corner of the kitchen. He realised that he felt happier too, ready to lay aside the worries of Dean Watkins, Frank Luke and Mark MacIntosh. Today was a new day and perhaps he would be able to talk to Jake about boarding school and find out what was going on there. It might even be that Drew would turn up as well and they could have the weekend they planned.

"So, Mrs Drummond," he teased, "is it all right if I go for my run today?"

"Yes, Special Agent DiNozzo, please feel free to run all over the estate ... Tony, I _am _sorry about yesterday. I don't know what I was thinking of." Tony smiled and gave her a quick hug,

"All forgiven and forgotten, Li. So long as you're making ham and eggs for breakfast." He picked up his running shoes and went to the back door. He opened the door where stood two men wearing ski masks and carrying guns.

"Special Agent DiNozzo," said one of them, "I don't think you're going for a run today."


	5. Chapter 5

Although it was Saturday and his team was not on call, Gibbs still went into the Navy Yard. Partly this was because he had paper work to catch up on and partly it was for the delight of watching McGee put up with driving him in to work. Gibbs felt a bit happier now that Tony's mysterious intruder had been identified. A thought occurred to him,

"McGee, did the sheriff come back with a report on Middle Hampton?"

"Er, no, Boss, I don't think so. I thought Tony was going to check himself?"

Gibbs frowned, he liked things to be completed.

"He didn't mention it. He might not have had time once they'd sorted MacIntosh out. Check with the sheriff."

Before McGee had a chance to obey, his phone rang.

"Special Agent McGee. Ah, Sheriff Kennedy, I was about to call you ... wait a minute, please," he put his hand over the mouthpiece, "Boss, the sheriff didn't have time to do the search yesterday. He's got a town festival to police today. Is it OK if it waits until later?"

Gibbs nodded, he'd phone Tony later to get him to do a check but somehow a place which celebrated Fall Festivals didn't seem the sort of place to attract trouble. McGee passed the message on and returned to his work.

A few minutes later, McGee and Gibbs were surprised to see Director Vance come down the stairs into the squad room.

"Gibbs, call your team in. There 's been a development with Commander Drummond."

Gibbs stood up, his gut suddenly on full alert. McGee was already on the phone to Ziva, Ducky and Abby.

"What's happened, Leon?"

"Something unbelievably stupid," was the curt reply, "what's the point of having a Navy Criminal Investigative Service and not using it?" This was clearly a rhetorical question and Gibbs didn't bother answering.

"It turns out that the problem with Drummond's project wasn't a problem at all. The plans that went missing? Petty Officer Luke had misfiled them – they never went missing at all. Almost as soon as they called Commander Drummond back in he was able to sort it out."

"Are they sure they didn't go missing and Luke just put them back to throw them off the scent?" asked McGee wondering if they had been too soft on Luke.

"Apparently not, I'm not sure quite how they know but Drummond's protocols and recording are such that they can tell. There was no leak."

"So what's the problem?" asked Gibbs.

"It seems," said Vance obviously trying to keep his temper in check, "that the supposed leak caused unexpected excitement and activity among some of the companies tendering for the business and it looked as if one in particular wanted to take advantage of it. They decided that it would be worth approaching Commander Drummond to see if he could be bought."

"And Drummond agreed?" asked McGee, somehow hoping that Tony's friend would not turn out to be a traitor.

"Absolutely not," said Vance, "he reported it to Admiral Jennings, his CO."

"And what did his CO do?" pressed Gibbs.

"Not what he should have done," said Vance, " instead of reporting it to us so we could investigate or simply cancel all dealings with the rogue company, he decided it would be a good idea to play along."

"And Drummond agreed? Wouldn't that put his family in danger?" said Gibbs incredulously.

"No. Admiral Jennings decided to be more mysterious than that. He told Drummond not to say anything, that he 'would sort it out'. He didn't tell anyone that the problem had been sorted out almost immediately. He's apparently been feeding misinformation to the company and waiting to see what they would do. His latest brainwave was to shut down the depot and make it look as if Drummond had disappeared, done a runner. He's now panicking because it seems that the company is not just after making huge profits from this but might have links to an enemy country. They think Drummond's a traitor who's gone on the run with the secrets. They're after him and they won't care how they get his information."

"But the Navy have got Drummond safe?" asked McGee.

"Yes, they've got Drummond OK. But he just a call from his wife to say that four armed men have taken her, her son and DiNozzo hostage and they'll kill them all unless they get the weapon plans."

NCIS

The armed men marched Tony back into the kitchen at gun point and then moved everyone into the den. Annoyed by Turk's excited barking they shoved the puppy into a broom closet and shut the door.

Tony, Jake and Lia were directed to sit. The leader spoke to them,

"Let me make myself clear. I do not want to harm any of you, I am here to do a job and I will do it. I will not hesitate to do what is necessary to fulfil my employer's expectations and to get away safely. I will not let you get in the way of achieving that and I will do what is necessary. I do not enjoy hurting people but I am not squeamish and I will have no scruples about hurting you. I should also tell you that I have two other colleagues outside the house and that we have been keeping a watch over your property for a number of days." This was said in a flat, emotionless voice and sent a shiver down Tony's spine. This was not someone who could be dissuaded by a sad, disappointed look or who would wave a gun around aimlessly. This seemed to be an ice cold professional who would not be easily swayed. Neither of the gunmen he had seen had removed their masks and they both wore gloves. Tony asked a question,

"And what job are you here to do? There is nothing of particular value here for you to steal."

The leader turned to Tony,

"I do not advise you to play games with me, Agent DiNozzo. Commander Drummond is in negotiation with my employer to give information about a new weapon – I am here to ensure that he delivers on that bargain."

Tony considered this. He would bet his life that Drew was not a traitor and was not planning to sell any secrets. The whole story around his 'disappearance' did not ring true. That meant that their captors were working on a false assumption. It didn't make their weapons any less deadly or their intentions any less violent but there was a potential weakness there, they might not expect the whole weight of the US Navy to be ready to go into action against them. A waiting game might be enough to save them.

The leader spoke again,

"Mrs Drummond, I regret the necessity, but I am going to sedate you and your son. In my experience it is easier to have as many 'guests' incapacitated as possible. It makes the job of guarding you easier." He nodded to the other masked man who opened a medical bag and pulled out a couple of syringes. "There is no need to worry, My colleague has medical experience and has calculated the dose necessary to render you unconscious for a number of hours."

Tony saw Lia's look of panic and tried to reason with the leader,

"Why don't you just tie them up, they'll promise to keep still." Lia nodded in agreement although Jake stubbornly shook his head. The leader nodded to the other man who punched Tony in the stomach.

"I do not need to hear your arguments. That is just a sample of what I will do to you. Carry on." The 'doctor' walked over to Jake, grasped him by the arm, swabbed his arm and injected him. He then did the same to Lia. After a few moments they slid unconscious to the floor.

The leader turned once more to Tony who was still gasping from the blow to his stomach.

"I have let you remain conscious for the moment as I may need to have someone awake to communicate with Commander Drummond and it seems logical to have someone who will remain calm under pressure. I assume that you are the most qualified person to do that? Agent DiNozzo, I believe that you care for the Drummonds, you see that they are helpless. I recommend that you do not do anything to make their situation worse," he turned to the other man, "Tie him up and watch him. "

NCIS

The whole team had assembled in the squad room and been brought up to date by Gibbs. McGee had brought up aerial photos of the Drummond farm and was arranging for satellite images to come on line later. Sheriff Kennedy had been informed and had agreed to scale back the police presence at the Fall Festival and be ready to move in if necessary.

"When do we expect the hostage takers to make contact again?" asked Ziva.

"I'm due to contact them in about an hour's time," came an unknown voice from by the elevator. The team turned and saw a tall, dark-haired man striding towards them. "Drew Drummond," he introduced himself. "Special Agent Gibbs, I think," he said and held out his hand to Gibbs. Gibbs shook his hand. Drummond nodded to the rest of the team, "Agent McGee, Agent David, Dr Mallard, Mr Palmer, Miss Scuito, Director Vance: it's good to meet you although I would have preferred it to be under better circumstances."

Abby rushed across and enfolded the Commander in one of her hugs,

"I'm sooo sorry, but I'm sure everything will be fine. Gibbs won't let anything happen to Tony or your family." The words were confident but the tone was not quite so certain.

Drummond didn't respond to the embrace,

"Thank you, Miss Scuito." He turned back to Director Vance, "I think I have made the kidnappers believe that I am prepared to sell them the plans ... that's the impression that Admiral Jennings has given them so they believe that I am on the run from the Navy". He grimaced with distaste. " When they contacted me on my cell I told them that I had gone to ground in Ohio so it would take me a few hours to get to the farm. I thought that would give us a few extra hours. I am hoping that they have taken my family and Tony as a precaution, to make sure that I keep my end of the bargain."

Gibbs looked at Drummond measuringly. He approved the Commander's strategy which had indeed given them a little planning time.

"Where were you really?" asked Ziva

"I was in Norfolk. Admiral Jennings had assigned me to what he said was a job which had to be done immediately. He only told me what he'd been doing a few hours ago when he realised things were getting out of control."

"How did you get here so quickly?" asked Ducky, "you must drive as quickly as Jethro."

"I hitched a ride on a helo," explained Drummond, "time was important. Director, your team are the experts here. I expect to be involved and to be of help but you are the professionals. Tell me what you want me to do."

Gibbs warmed to the Commander even more. He had hard brown eyes, a firm mouth and a no-nonsense air. Above all he seemed to be a pragmatist, he knew his own abilities and where they fell short and would not be too proud to accept help.

"Boss, the satellite pictures are just coming through," said McGee. He pressed a button and an overhead shot of the farm house appeared on the plasma.

"It looks as if the kidnappers have two sedans," said Ziva, "I can see one person standing at the front door. McGee, can we see on the other side as well?" McGee adjusted the angle, "and there is another at the back door. Did your wife say how many intruders there were, Commander Drummond?"

"Drew. She said there were four. It looks a fairly small group – that would tie in with them thinking that this is just an insurance policy."

"They may be thinking that they can seize the plans from you without paying anything," pointed out Jimmy. "I'm sorry", he said, as the team turned to gaze at him, "I didn't mean to be pessimistic."

"You're quite right, Palmer," said the Director, "unfortunately."

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs," said Abby excitedly, " is that your truck parked outside the house?"

Gibbs nodded, "Lent it to DiNozzo. Thought it would be better on the roads there."

"Awww, that is so sweet," said Abby. As Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her, she hurried on, "um, don't be mad Gibbs but I sort of added something, a ...a... feature to your truck." As he continued to stare, she said, "I added a tracking device. Just in case you went er ... missing again, we'd know where you were. I just thought I'd mention it in case it comes in useful if the bad men decide to use it. Umm, McGee, send those pictures down to my lab – I'll see if I can bring up the licence plates on those sedans." And she left.

"That might come in useful," said Drew, " the roads are pretty banged up in some parts of the farm. If we can get the kidnappers to use the truck we might have an advantage. I've got to make the call in 50 minutes. What shall I say?"

NCIS

Hours had passed. Hours during which Tony had begun to think that Heavy #1 (as he had named him) was not as confident as he had first appeared. He had had an initial plan and stuck to it but seemed a bit hesitant when reacting to unfolding events. Lia and Jake remained out cold on the floor although Heavy #1 had agreed to Tony's request that he give them pillows and cover them with a couple of Afghans. . Fortunately Turk had eventually given up his whining and seemed to have fallen asleep in the closet.

Tony had grown stiff from sitting for so long, he stretched his legs and said,

"Mind if I use the bathroom?"

Heavy#1 looked startled at the request and considered his response. Tony knew that the window in the downstairs bathroom was far too small for him to escape from and he didn't intend to try anything. He wanted to reassure Heavy#1 that he was being 'professional' and just trying to get through the situation as easily as possible. He figured that the more opportunities he _didn't_ take to get away or cause a problem, the more he would be able to lull their captors into a false sense of security. Checking that Lia and Jake were indeed still out cold, Heavy#1 called Heavy#3 in from the front door and ordered him and Heavy#2 to escort Tony to the bathroom. They undid one of the handcuffs to let him do his business and then re-attached it as soon as he came out.

As the afternoon progressed, Tony made a number of small, reasonable requests ... a sandwich, drink of water, another trip to the bathroom. All were granted after careful thought and Tony took no more than was offered, still trying to play the part of someone wanting this all to be over. He mused that his colleagues would have been surprised to see how docile he could be.

The phone rang, making everyone jump. Heavy#1 answered it.

"Commander Drummond. When will you be here? ... Have you got the plans? ... Yes, I have the money. 2 million dollars as agreed ... come to the house and we will make the exchange ... why not? ... very well, where is that?"

Heavy#1 put the phone down. Drummond will be here in one hour. We'll meet him at the quarry."

"That wasn't the plan," objected Heavy#2, "it was meant to be here? Why the change?"

"He said he wanted to meet nearer the road so it would be quicker to get away. Seems he plans to get his family away as soon as possible and didn't want to come back to the house."

"The track to the quarry is all ruts. The sedans won't make it," pointed out Heavy#3.

"We'll use their truck. It will make it easier to take our insurance policy with us anyway," decided Heavy#1. "Check on our sleeping beauties."

Lia mumbled something as' Doctor' Heavy went over. "She's coming round, I'd better give her another shot. The boy will be out for a while yet." The leader nodded approval. "We'll leave her here and take the boy with us ... and you too, Agent DiNozzo. You can do the heavy lifting for us."

Forty-five minutes later, having tied Lia up, the kidnappers left the house. Tony had been released from his handcuffs so he could carry Jake out to the truck where he laid him gently in the back. He was then ordered to jump in himself and he was re-handcuffed. He hoped that he was right in his estimation of Drew and that Gibbs and the team were nearby, he could only watch and wait and try to keep Jake safe.

The truck lurched up the track to the quarry. Lia and Drew had decided not to sell the quarry because they hoped that some of their artistic visitors might enjoy turning their hand to sculpture using local stone. As Tony tried to keep Jake from banging into the side of the truck he thought his friends might need to improve the road if they wanted people to use it.

They reached the top of the quarry where the meet had been arranged. Drew was waiting there in another truck. Two of the heavies got out of the truck leaving the other two to stand guard over Tony and Jake. Drew shouted out,

"Where's my family?"

Heavy#1 gestured to one of the guards to take the handcuffs off Tony and get him to bring Jake out. Tony jumped out of the back and reached in to take Jake in his arms. He walked round to the front and stood there.

"Where's my wife?"

"She's safely in the house. Your friend can confirm that, Please tell him, Agent DiNozzo."

"That's right, Drew. She and Jake have been injected with something so they're out cold but they're OK."

Drew seemed to hesitate,

"He's not my friend. He's just been hanging around us for years – never forgave me for stealing Lia away from him. Couldn't bear the fact that I always got what he wanted ... Lia, being captain of the basket ball team, real job and not with some tin pot federal agency nobody's ever heard of. A family that cared. You're just pathetic DiNozzo and now you're going to have to live with me being rich and taking Lia and Jake away for good."

"You don't care about Lia and Jake, you're never around, you're a cold-hearted bastard and a lousy officer. If you care so much about Jake why are you going to send him away to school?" shouted out Tony. "You're a traitor to your country and your family. You won't get away with this."

"This is very entertaining, gentlemen," said Heavy#1, "but I am not interested. Commander, please let me have the plans and I will give you your money. I think we will then leave in your truck and you can have your son and continue this lovely re-union. Agent DiNozzo, return the boy to the truck, please."

Tony placed Jake in the truck and hopped up beside him. Heavy# 2 put the handcuffs back on. In front of the truck, Drew and Heavy#1 made the exchange.

"It was good to do business with you, Commander. Now, if you don't mind, I think we will just take the keys to the truck, we don't really want you to change your mind about this transaction and try to follow us." He threw the keys into the undergrowth. He and the other kidnappers piled into the truck Drew had arrived in and started up the engine.

Drew rushed over to the bushes and started scrabbling for the keys and then looked up in horror. The other truck was reversing and heading at high speed for Gibbs's truck with the obvious aim of pushing it over the edge of the quarry.

"Tony!" he cried out.

Tony had already seen the danger. He was trying to lift Jake over the tailgate but was struggling because of the handcuffs. Drew ran towards the truck to try and slow it down. The end of the truck passed him just as Tony managed to lever Jake over the top. Drew reached out his arms and managed to break Jake's fall a little as he hit the ground. He sighed with relief and then turned round in time to see Gibb's truck plummet over the side of the quarry.

"TONY!"


	6. Chapter 6

Pleased with their success and the delaying tactics, the heavies hurtled down the track. Heavy#1 was on the phone to their employer,

"We have the plans. We will meet you as arranged in about half an hour. Have the money as agreed."

The engine began to make a rattling sound and then died.

"What's happened," shouted Heavy#1, "get it started again."

The driver got out to lift the hood to see what was wrong. At that moment, Ziva, McGee and several members of Sherriff Kennedy's police force emerged from the bushes with guns drawn.

"NCIS! You know what to do," said McGee, "so please do it as quickly and quietly as possible."

"You are under arrest for ... for so many things," said Ziva with an evil smile.

NCIS

Ziva and McGee ran up the slope.

"Boss, it worked! " cried out McGee. "Abby's tampering with the gas made the truck grind to a halt just like she said it would."

"And we intercepted the call that the kidnappers made to their employer. Agent Balboa and his team are on their way to arrest him," said Ziva, "I have the feeling that our new friends will soon be singing like budgerigars ."

"I don't think that's right ...,"began Tim, "Boss, what's wrong. Where's Tony?"

Gibbs looked back at him with a wild look in his eyes.

"The bastards pushed the truck off the side. Tony was still in it."

Ziva and McGee rushed to the edge of the quarry and looked over. Gibbs's truck was lying upside-down, bent and twisted at the bottom. As they watched, it burst into flames. For a moment or two they looked in horror, frozen to the spot, a sense of overwhelming loss washing over them.

"Agent Gibbs, over here!" came a voice. They turned and saw Drew peering over the edge of the cliff. He was pointing down the slope, "I think he's down there, caught on a ledge about half way down."

Gibbs, Ziva and Tim hurried over to where he was standing and looked down. In the gathering gloom they could just make out Tony's crumpled body. McGee opened his mouth to shout out but Gibbs stopped him,

"Can't risk startling him, Tim. That's a pretty narrow ledge he's on. He could easily roll off. Call Ducky to come up here and get the Sherriff to get some ropes and equipment so we can get him out."

"Yes, Boss. Where are you going?"

"I'm going down to see what's going on."

"I think it would be better if I went, Gibbs," said Ziva, "I am smaller and lighter, there will be more room for me."

"Not today, Ziver," said Gibbs, "this is my job."

So Gibbs carefully picked his way down the crumbly surface, trying not to cause stones to fall on to his fallen agent. After some minutes, he reached Tony's side and managed to kneel down next to him. He was lying face down right on the edge so he carefully rolled him back to relative safety hoping that he wasn't doing any more damage. He brushed some dirt off Tony's face and patted one cheek gently,

"Tony ... Tony ... are you with me?"

"B ...b...boss, what are you doing here?"

"Looking after you, Bozo. Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere," moaned Tony, "I don't want a head slap for a while."

"OK, I'll give you a break for a day or two. We'll just wait for help to arrive." He saw that Tony was shivering so he removed his coat and tucked it round him.

"Thanks, Boss." There was silence for a few moments, then, "Boss ..."

"Yes, Tony,"

"I think your truck might be a bit banged up."

NCIS

It took another hour to get Tony and Gibbs back to the top of the quarry and by that time, Tony had either fallen asleep or passed out. Drew had gone to the hospital where Jake and Lia were being checked out. Ducky gave Tony a quick check up when he reached the surface,

"I don't think there's any major damage, Jethro. Bumps, scrapes and lots and lots of bruises. He might have a mild concussion but he was lucky, I think he got out just as the truck went over so he managed to roll most of the way rather than falling a great distance. We may need to restrain Abigail from too many hugs for a while! I'll go with Ziva and Timothy and meet you at the hospital."

Gibbs climbed into the back of the ambulance, one glare at the paramedics being enough to stop any possible protests. He kept careful watch all the way there and talked to Tony whenever he surfaced enough to make any sense.

Ducky was proved right. Tony had numerous cuts and scrapes and a chipped ankle bone but, for someone who had fallen out of a truck as it flew off a quarry edge, he was remarkably unscathed. The doctor decided to keep him in overnight but said he could probably all go home the next day.

Gibbs had sent Ziva, McGee and Ducky back to the Drummonds for the night with a reminder to let Turk out of the broom closet. He settled down to stay with Tony. A knock sounded at the door and Drew came in,

"Do you mind if I have a word with Tony, Agent Gibbs? I think the nurses have just made a fresh brew of coffee if you want a refill."

Gibbs jumped up. "A good officer, who understands a marine and his coffee. Thank you, Commander!" He gestured towards his empty seat. "I think he's just dropping off to sleep so don't stay too long."

Drew nodded and sat down,

"Tony, are you awake?"

Sleepy eyes opened, "I am now."

"Tony, I wanted you to know why I said those things at the quarry ..."

"It's all right. Gibbs explained that there was a last minute hold up with Sheriff Kennedy's team being in place and he told you to play for time."

"Yeah, but I wish I could have thought of another way. You know I didn't mean it."

"Of course I knew ... that Lia and I had already decided we weren't right for each other before you came along, that you were _never_ basket ball captain ... although I _do_ work for an agency nobody has heard of!

"And you are our best friend ... you know that too?"

"I guess. What happened with Fluke though?"

"Fluke? Oh, you mean Luke? What do you mean? Lia told me about his 'visit' – you certainly livened up the place!"

"Didn't you know about all his problems ... with the girlfriend and the baby?"

"No, but I didn't work with him that closely. I left it to the sergeant and the lieutenant to deal with it all. I assumed that they knew what was going on ... all that touchy feely stuff isn't really me."

Tony chuckled, "it's one of Gibbs' rules, never assume. I must be more out of it than I thought if I can't remember which one it is."

Drew laughed. At that moment, Gibbs came in and saw his face transformed – a twinkle softened the hard brown eyes and the smile lit up his face.

"I'll leave you to get your rest. You'll come back to the farm tomorrow." As he turned to go, Tony gripped him by the wrist,

"One more thing. Why are you sending Jake to boarding school? _You_ hated it."

"He was angry that we were moving again so we thought that boarding school might be an answer, you know, stability, he could stay there if the Navy post me somewhere else. You know that could happen, there's no guarantee that the Annapolis posting _will_ last three years. And besides, he'd been watching the Harry Potter films and began to think that boarding school might be cool after all."

"I know it's none of my business, and hell, I'm not really qualified to say anything, but Jake thinks you don't care about him."

"Hey, it is your business, we made you Jake's godfather for a reason. We'll work on it, I promise but, like I said, I'm not good at the touchy feely stuff."

"I know what it feels like to think your Dad doesn't care ... don't make Jake go through that." Drew nodded, he knew there weren't many people Tony would have shared that pain with.

Lia and Jake poked their heads round the door,

"Can we come in. The doctor says we can go home," said Lia.

Tony waved for them to come in.

"Are you OK," he asked, "no side effects?"

"We're fine, in fact I woke up feeling really well rested. You're the one who fell off a cliff!"

"I bet it was really great," said Jake, "I wish I hadn't been asleep when it happened."

Lia hugged Jake closer and closed her eyes in horror at the idea.

"Tony, I ... we ... don't want to say," stammered Lia tearfully."

"Then don't say it," said Tony, "think of it as me fulfilling godparently duties."

"We'll just say 'thank you' then and tell you that you're coming home with us tomorrow and you'll stay with us until you're better," said Drew firmly.

"OK," said Tony, "but, guys, do me a favour, less of the strong, silent stuff, it _is_ OK to talk."

Drew laughed again, it seemed to come quite easily to him now that all was well. "We'd better go, you need some sleep and I want to find out what Turk's been up to."

Lia kissed Tony and the usually undemonstrative Jake surprised him with a hug

And they were gone, leaving Gibbs to keep his vigil over Tony.

NCIS

Next morning McGee brought Gibbs a fresh cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich from the hospital cafeteria. Tony was still sleeping.

"Thanks, McGee, Any news on the kidnappers?"

"Yes, Boss. Agent Balboa's team arrested the kidnappers' employer and the kidnappers are singing like budgerigars ... according to Ziva anyway."

Gibbs grunted with satisfaction and took a sip of his coffee.

"And there was a message for Tony ... from Gregor." Tim put a piece of paper on Tony's locker.

Ducky walked in,

"Ah, good morning everyone, And is how the patient today?"

"Hungry ..." came a sleepy voice, "is there a bacon sandwich for me too, McChef?"

"I'll go and check with the nurses to see what you're allowed to have," intervened Ducky smoothly.

"No loopy juice," called out Tony as Tim and Ducky left. "Boss, I'm not real clear on what happened with the weapon plans. Fill me in, will you?"

"To cut a long story short. Petty Officer Luke misfiled something and caused a flap. Admiral Jennings decided to try and take advantage of the situation."

"All this because of something trivial like putting a piece of paper in the wrong place?" asked Tony.

"Seems so. Just proves that paper work is dangerous. I don't think it will turn out well for Admiral Jennings, I have a feeling the merits of early retirement are being pointed out to him," said Gibbs.

Gibbs remembered the message McGee had brought in and handed it to Tony. Tony read it and smiled,

"Dean Watkins ... turns out he's decided to ask for help after all. Must have been what you said to him, Boss. Thanks."

"Nothing to do with me, Tony, I didn't get round to talking to him. All down to you. Abby will probably be arriving soon, why don't you rest a bit longer, you'll need your strength."

"On it, Boss."

As they sat there quietly Gibbs McGee's voice came drifting through from the corridor outside.

"Ducky, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Timothy, what's on your mind?"

"There's something I don't understand. Tony seemed to be real upset about Donnie Watkins ..."

"I believe the young man's name is Dean Watkins," supplied Ducky.

"Over Dean Watkins ... and then he went to all that trouble over Petty Officer Fluke ...

"Luke," corrected Ducky.

"Luke ... and then he smoothed it over about Mark MacIntosh. Why did he do that? You'd think after all these years of being in law enforcement that he'd be used to things like that."

There was a short silence,

"Timothy, do you love your country?

"Of course."

"Is that why you became a federal agent? To serve your country?"

"Er ... yes, I suppose it is."

"Why do you think Tony became a federal agent?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure he loves this country."

"I think he does too, but I think he became a police officer more because, in a way, he loves _people_."

"Is there a difference, Ducky?"

"I think so. If you love your country or love the idea of justice, you see the big picture. Tony loves his country, loves justice but he sees how people get caught up in the machinery and he joined the police to protect people, to look after the vulnerable, the weak – and sometimes that means people on the wrong side of the law as well. Tony's not good at abstract theories – he always sees the detail. The things other people see as trivial I fear it's a curse as well as a blessing. Ah, here come the nurse."

A few moments later, Ducky put his head round the door,

"Breakfast is on its way, Anthony. Cereal and toast, I fear, rather than bacon sandwich but no 'loopy juice'."

Tim's head joined Ducky's at the door.

"We're going to head back to the Navy Yard later on, Boss. Are you coming or are you going to the Drummonds?"

"I'll go back with you. I haven't got my truck anymore so you might be driving me for a while."

McGee groaned and withdrew his head.

Gibbs turned back to look at Tony whose eyes were now open; he couldn't tell if he had overheard the conversation between Ducky and Tim. It didn't really matter, he hoped that Tony knew that he understood why certain things sometimes caused him to struggle with the job. He decided _not_ to take Tony's advice to Drew and Jake which meant that he would stick with the 'strong silent stuff'. He simply nodded at Tony instead. Tony nodded back. Enough said.

NCIS

A few days later, McGee, Ziva and Abby were discussing the case as they arrived in the squad room.

"I am still surprised that Commander Drummond and Tony are such good friends," said Ziva, " they seem to be very different characters. The Commander is very correct and organised and, let us be frank, Tony is not."

"But he has a lovely smile," said Abby, "he looks quite different when he smiles. Almost mischievous. When he smiles I can really see why he and Tony are friends."

"I know what you mean," said Tim, "but I'm still with Ziva. The Commander is quite, well ... proper, I suppose. "

As they reached their desks they were surprised to see Drew talking to Gibbs.

"Good morning everyone," he said in his usual serious way, "I'm glad I've seen you. I was just telling Agent Gibbs that you are all invited to a cook out at the Drummond farm on Saturday. Tony's recovering well and is determined to do the cooking. He expects to be back at work next week and Agent Gibbs says you can take him back with you."

Everyone looked pleased at the thought not only of cook out, but of Tony returning to work. They wouldn't tell him, of course, but they had missed him. Drew left.

"Back to work," said Gibbs. Ziva, Tim and Gibbs all sat down at their desks ... which, with their chairs, promptly collapsed beneath them. From their positions on the floor they heard Drew's laughter coming from the elevator.

_AN: thank you to everyone who came along for the ride ... those who favorited and those who reviewed._


End file.
